Wigmore reviewed by The Arts Desk

Reviews

Wigmore reviewed by The Arts Desk

Bernard Hughes, The Arts Desk (13 May, 2025)

There was a wonderful festal spirit at the Wigmore Hall last night, as the vocal ensemble Stile Antico ran through a Greatest Hits selection in celebration of their 20th anniversary, in front of a packed and enthusiastic audience. The 12-strong group still boasts four founder members, but this was swelled to 10 for the final item, as a swarm of alumni joined in a beautiful rendition of Gibbons’ The Silver Swan.

Stile Antico specialises in music of the 16th century, in all its variety – from Byrd to Palestrina – sung with rich-hued warmth in the vocal sound, animation and vigour in the rhythms and an almost superhuman responsiveness between the singers. They masterfully covered the textural spectrum, from the fruity bottom-heavy chords of Clemens non Papa’s Ego flos campi to the stratospheric heights of the anonymous upper-voice Sicut lilium inter spinas.

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